


Luminous Beings

by Elywyngirlie



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: ARACHNAPHOBES BEWARE!, Canon Typical Violence, F/M, Force Bond, Graduation, Imprisonment, Jedi Training, Reylo Fanfiction Anthology, Space Ships, The Hutts, established stormpilot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 09:57:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12579172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elywyngirlie/pseuds/Elywyngirlie
Summary: In order to become a Jedi, Rey must do one thing: Kill Kylo Ren. But how can she when her heart belongs--and has belonged to him--for years now?Part of the Reylo Fanfiction Anthology, Celebrate the Wakings!A/N: A repost as my account was hacked into and fics were deleted Halloween 2017





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Someone got into my account and deleted this fic and some of my one shots and one of my older fics. I am reposting.

This latest skirmish left each side without a gain--except a general sense of satisfaction in being able to stave off the enemy before jumping to hyperspace. Rey hopped out of her X wing, her cheeks flushed with excitement, and jogged across the tarmac. Captain Poe Dameron was snapping orders to a droid who skittered off to do his bidding.

“Do you think they got a lock on our location?” Rey asked without preamble. Poe shot her a quick look before shaking his tousled curls.

“No, it was just muscle flexing,” he said quickly. “When do you go back to Luke?”

“Tomorrow,” Rey replied, a sense of dread rising swiftly within her. She wondered if it was from Poe or from her own rising sense of worry. Did she really find returning to Luke that foreboding? She shivered as she remembered Luke’s final words to her before she departed Ahch-To.

“I just think you need to be here with us, that’s all,” Poe was saying. He touched her lightly on her elbow and began steering her toward the hangar.  She twitched her elbow from his grasp as she followed him back through the corridors. She knew he would head directly to the General, then to Finn, and then to the mess hall. Poe rarely changed his routine after a flight.

“I’m close to finishing up my training,” Rey answered, her mouth running dry at the memory of her last time on Ahch-To.

“But we may not have time, Rey, do you understand?” Poe demanded urgently. He moved in front of her, gripping her shoulders. Rey froze at the touch and then slowly edged out of his grip. He gave her a quick apologetic smile. He knew how she refrained from touch after her second encounter at the hands of Kylo Ren.

“This skirmish just shows that the First Order is preparing for a final showdown. They’re testing our tactics, our response times, the numbers in our fleet. You have to make a decision, Rey. Are you with us as a fighter or as a Jedi?”

“Why can’t I be both?”

“Luke isn’t; perhaps Jedi can’t occupy both grounds.”

Rey lifted her chin. “They did once. We can do it again.” Poe searched her face, eyes crinkling in concern. He opened his mouth to speak again when his name was paged over the comm. He embraced her quickly--a light touch--and then dashed off to the General.

Exhaling heavily, Rey strode to her assigned quarters. A small space, barely the size of a closet, but larger than her AT-AT. She smiled ruefully as she walked into the ‘fresher and splashed cold water on her face.

And when she looked into the mirror, his face stared back at her. His dark eyes were sorrowful today and their bond shimmered with his melancholy. Rey snorted and stared balefully back at him. She refused to acknowledge how beautiful his face was; she could feel the same resistance coming from him.

“I don’t know why you insist on talking to me like this,” she began curtly. Kylo shrugged, a corner of his mouth twisting upward.

“Would you prefer me to speak with you in your dreams again?” he almost purred. She shot him a look of pure menace.

“Stay out.”

“I feel the same way, Rey. You know what I’m offering you.” Despite the temptation he wove in his words, the sadness pressed heavily through them. She brushed it aside brusquely before slamming her hands down on the sink. She exhaled loudly, forcing the irritation out with each breath. She remembered Luke’s training. She would not be swayed.

“I have everything I need here,” she countered. Kylo’s eyes roved over her shoulders and her face. She could feel him urging her to remove the bindings from her hair, run her fingers through her thick strands, almost allowing him to feel their softness again.

“No,” she said bitterly and Kylo laughed, a hollow sound.

“How can you have everything you need there when you don’t have me?” he shot back. “You know I love you, Rey.” Rey stared at him with burning eyes.

“If you loved me, you’d leave the First Order.”

“I’m offering you the galaxy,” Kylo insisted. “What more can a scavenger like you want?”

Rey stiffened at his words and shut down the bond. She watched his image waver in the mirror, his mouth set in a hard line as he felt her shut him out. A moment later, only her reflection stared back at her, tired with dark circles under her eyes.

They had the same fight almost every time they spoke. He chased her through the bond, hounding her, compelling her body to remember the sensations from their last encounter. She had thought she was kissing Ben and had felt him surrender to her fantasy.

He gave her what she wanted by allowing himself to sink into her dreams. She knew from the bond it was what he wanted to be too. He had been tender, kind, affectionate, holding her tightly to him and peppering her face and her hair with kisses. Their rendezvous rarely involved just flinging off clothes and rutting like animals. He sent her to coordinates to wonders in the galaxy--a midnight picnic at a bioluminescent beach; an observatory at the edge of the galactic black hole; an afternoon stroll through the flower fields of Naboo.

They were reluctant to part but whenever Rey had broached his possible return to his mother, to the light side, she had discovered that he wasn’t Ben, that her love wasn’t enough, and that Kylo Ren meant to torture her with memories of their bodies entwined together.

He wanted her. But at his side as he ruled the galaxy with Snoke.

She wanted no part in that.

Rey collapsed onto her bunk and closed her eyes. She let her mind wander over the past few days: the joy of flying with Black Squadron; the quiet ecstasy of communing with the Force; the tendrils of euphoria that Kylo sent her at night; and the conflict on Luke’s face when he told her that in order to graduate as a Jedi, she must end Kylo Ren.

Torn between her lover and between her Master, it was not the ending she had imagined when she had first trudged up those steps on Ahch-To. Then, she had resented Kylo, brimming with hatred toward him, until she began her training.

Until she learned about Ben Solo.

Rey rolled over in bed and wondered not for the first time if Kylo had plucked that out of her head with the bond. The same bond she had used to take fighting techniques from him. She had thought she was a fearsome fighter on Starkiller. Under Luke’s training, she discovered that she was still a scavenger, taking what she needed from Kylo’s mind and further cementing the strange bond that had begun when he had plundered hers.

She shuddered and pulled the blankets up around her ears. She couldn’t end Kylo; she loved him. She loved the Ben in him and the man he had become. And he couldn’t end her; each battle between them had ended in a stalemate. But she also couldn’t disobey her master, the man who had become her family.

Seeing no benefit in another sleepless night battling her fatigue and anxiety, Rey screwed her eyes shut and reached out for the Force to soothe herself to sleep.

Kylo was there the moment she reached out and slid into her mind, silent and formless as smoke. As she slipped into dreams, her mind was ripe for reformation and taunting. She knew this from prior experience. A part of her braced for an attack but instead, she floated in quiet images of Kylo’s arms wrapped around her, her cheek cushioned on his chest, and his breath ruffling her hair.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days blurred quickly into a routine. Rey worked on spacecraft, spent time practicing her Forms in the gardens, watched terrible movies with Finn in their eagerness to learn more about the galaxy around them, and logged hours in the flight simulators. She could sense how pleased Poe was that she was a part of his squadron, that she had stayed and had not fled. She did not tell him that it was under the General’s orders, and Leia apparently never broached the subject with him.

 

Luke arrived several nights later, disheveled and worn. His old X-wing whined louder than usual as he landed and Rey jogged out to greet him. She grabbed a diagnostic datapad as she ran out. Luke’s face blossomed into a warm grin as he saw her and he pulled her into a tight hug.

 

“You’re safe at least,” he said without preamble. Rey quirked one brow up.

 

“Been here the whole time,” she promised before holding up the datapad. “Going to check out this old thing.”

 

“Be kind to her. She’s older than you are,” he teased lightly as he strode off to find his sister. Rey concentrated on running the diagnostic and found several issues right away. A blast of anger surged through the Force, bowling her over, foot slipping off a wing before she righted herself. She shook her head and narrowed her eyes, concentrating on the pulsing righteous anger flowing through the Force. She thought maybe it was Kylo but a moment later, she realized it was his mother.

 

“Guess Luke found her,” she mumbled and went back to tinkering. She spent the next few hours working on the old X-wing while a few droids came up to scrub the thing down to be repainted. Finally, Rey trudged back to her room, grease clinging to her hands and embedded under her nails, sweat covered hair sticking to her forehead. She abandoned her suit with ease and dumped it in the laundry before stepping into the hot shower.

 

As she splashed water on her face, she felt something solidifying in the steam rising around her. She rubbed her eyes and turned to see Kylo gazing at her, his face shuttered to her. She couldn’t even sense his emotions in that moment. She twisted her body away, hands coming up to cover her breasts and groin.

 

“What are you doing here?” she bit out. Kylo gave her a funny smile.

 

“I was just thinking about you.” She watched the water splatter through him, his image wavering for a moment.

 

“Well, I wasn’t thinking about you,” she tossed back.  

 

“No, you were thinking about Luke. About how you won’t be a Jedi because you won’t complete his graduation requirement.”

 

“I...I’m not ready to talk about this,” she sputtered. Kylo shrugged gracelessly and reached over to brush a tendril off her cheek. She felt the hair move and turned away, giving him her back. She heard him huff impatiently.

 

“Why don’t we give it all up? Leave Snoke and Luke behind, find some sort of place and live out our lives.” She heard the pleading note in his voice and frowned. Kylo was fiercely devoted to Snoke, insisting to her time and time again that Snoke had saved him.

 

She wondered how much was true and how much was protest. She opened her mouth to argue before sighing, already rife with defeat, and slumping against the shower wall. She could feel arms going around her, a slight press against her back. Tears rose unbidden to her eyes as she longed for his real comfort, not this facsimile.

 

“It solves nothing,” she whispered.

 

“It lets us be together,” he urged. “And at this point, that’s all that I want.” Rey shuddered and felt a brush of cool air on her heated skin where her neck met her back. A kiss.

 

“Kylo---” A klaxon screamed to life and Rey jerked back. Kylo’s arms fell away and she whirled around.

 

“Is that you?,” she furiously demanded as she slammed the shower off. Kylo shook his head.

 

“No, we don’t have a base raid planned,” he said as she skittered out of the ‘fresher, barely toweling off before slipping into a clean flightsuit. It clung to her damp figure and Kylo inhaled sharply. She glanced over her shoulder as she braided her hair and saw both desire and bitterness in his eyes. She paused and strode over, rising to her toes to kiss his apparition.

 

“I’ll be safe.”

“Don’t forget your lightsaber,” he murmured, raising a hand to beckon the saber to her side. Grinning brightly, she grabbed it from the air, kissing his cheek, and clipping the blade to her belt.

 

“Take care,” she called as she ran out the door, joining the other fighters.

 

“Rey!” Poe shouted. “Saddle up and get into the sky. We’ve got incoming.”

 

“First Order?”

 

“No, mercenaries. And it seems like they’ve surrounded some of our supply ships. We’ll leave the ground defense to Finn and his team here. Black and Blue Squadrons will hit the skies and take care of our supply ship. Wexley! Lead your team!” Poe was a flurry of commands before he lightly climbed his ladder and dropped into his X-wing. Rey dashed to hers and spent a few moments running pre-flight checks.

 

 _Rey,_ Luke said through the Force. Rey braced herself for a rebuke. But none came.  _Trust the Force, Rey. Let it flow through you._

 

 _Are you alright?,_ she silently sent back as she lifted the X-wing off the ground.

 

 _Leia is just upset, that’s all. That’s what siblings do,_ he thought ruefully.  _We’ll talk when you return._ Rey consigned her assent and her X-wing lifted into the air. She shot forward to join her squadron as they winnowed through the incoming fire raining down from above. Rey returned some of her own, taking out a few Z-95 headhunters before bursting out into black. Poe chewed her and several flight mates out for not sticking to his directive just before he dropped two proton torpedoes onto the main ship.

 

“Someone just wants the glory for himself,” Blue Five growled.

 

“C’mon, mate. You’ve got Finn; leave some of the hotties for the rest of us,” Black Three chimed in and several hearty chuckles sounded in her comm. Rey smiled and followed Poe out beyond the planet. Sublights flared as the dozen fighters sped toward a distant moon where a bright streaks of red and green flashed. Rey flipped a few buttons to get a better sense of what she was seeing.

 

 _Use the Force._ Luke’s words echoed in her mind. Unlike her bond with Kylo, which was reflexive and intuitive, Rey struggled to rely on the Force. She was too accustomed to slogging through things, relying on her own wits and her own senses. Kylo would always argue that her senses were always aided by the Force, but she ignored him.

 

Inhaling deeply, Rey reached out to the Force, feeling it connect her in a tenuous web to those around her. She was immediately assailed with the emotions of everyone around her and quickly shut down the connection, focusing it to narrow on the ships ahead.

 

“There’s a freighter and about two dozen fighters. A wing bombers, light freighters, and Z-95 headhunters,” Rey reported. None of her fellow squadron members reacted to her report except for Poe, who began barking orders, but Rey could feel how unsettled they were.

 

“Alright, Blue Squadron, concentrate your fire on the large freighter. It’s got a tractor beam,” Poe snapped as they neared the skirmish. “Black Squadron, you’re with me. Let’s get these buzzards off our hauler.”  X-wings split off and began to spit fire back at the other ships.

 

Rey ducked beneath Black Three and targeted a Headhunter firing on the sleek silver supply freighter. The New Republic Insignia was stamped clearly on its side.

 

“Black Leader, where is its escort?” Rey asked as she twisted right to avoid fire coming from behind her. She swung up and hit her brakes, falling behind the ship. She fired once and sped through its fire as it exploded. She banked sharply to her left to slide behind a Headhunter hot on Black Three’s tail.

 

“I’ve got you!” Rey shouted and a short burst of fire took out the ship.

 

“I’m scanning, Black Seven, but I don’t see any debris,” Poe shouted before he dropped into a barrel roll, easily zapping several ships. A sense of unease gripped Rey and she hovered outside the fight for a moment. A patch of stars drew her attention and she reached out with the Force. Trepidation settled into her skin and Rey couldn’t shake it off.

 

“Something’s wrong,” she said. “Doesn’t this fight seem too easy?”

“What, mocking my skills?” Pava blithely replied.

“Has anyone tried raising the Republic ship?” Rey demanded. She heard Poe curse and as a laser skimmed over his ship. Rey dove in after him, tailing the other ship, fire skating over the other Headhunter.

 

“Blue Leader, have you hailed the other ship?”

 

“Tried, no response,” came the breathy reply. Blue Squadron was dipping and diving around the larger freighter, trying to knock down the shields. Rey bit her lip and focused on firing on the headhunter. She managed to clip its port wing and it went tumbling down where Black Two finished blowing it to pieces.

 

“No answer from my hails either,” Poe stated clearly, unease thick in his voice. Rey’s gaze drifted again to the odd patch of stars. Something gleamed in the darkness and she frowned.

At that moment, a large ship uncloaked--an old Hammerhead Corvette--and she heard cries and gasps in her comm. Rey cursed herself for not listening to the Force as she yanked her control stick upward to get out of the fray. The headhunters began to pull back.

 

“We need to leave!” Rey insisted.

 

“We can’t abandon our supplies!”

 

“It’s a trap!” Rey screamed just as the rest was sprung. A swarm of ships dropped out of the Corvette and glided toward them. Rey blinked as she studied the monitor.

 

“What the kriff,” Jess murmured.

 

“Vulture droids,” Poe supplied. “Old Clone Wars technology.”

 

“Can’t those drill through hulls?” someone cried. Rey heard a thud through a comm before a brief scream. Then silence. Coldness surged through her and she jerked the control stick forward, driving right back into the fray.

 

There were hundreds of vulture droids. The Resistance fighters were no match for the sheer number of them even as they evaded and returned fire. Some of the best pilots were in this squadron and comms fell silent, except to bark commands, as they focused on escaping with their lives.

 

They began to withdraw when a perimeter flared to life and Rey realized what had happened. While they fought, droids had dropped perimeter flares, erecting a temporary barrier. Anyone attempting to leave would be incinerated. A few other ships buzzed around testing the area but could not find a weakness.

They were well and truly trapped.

 

“If we take out the Corvette, we may be able to stop them from communicating to the Vultures,” Rey suggested. A rousing cry went through the squadrons and Poe sent out commands as they rushed back to the Corvette.

 

Sweat beaded down Rey’s back as she concentrated on swinging her ship around, lasers firing at targets as they buzzed toward her. She pushed some aside with a brazen use of the Force and jammed her stick forward, scanning the Corvette for a transmitter. She spied turbo cannons underneath and shouted out a warning.

 

Suddenly, as she entered the Corvette’s shadow, she felt her ship shudder.  Rey’s eyes widened as she read the screaming from her scopes.

 

She was trapped in a tractor beam.

 

Her ship was irreversibly being pulled in toward the Corvette. She watched as the Vulture droids surrounded her, a wall of silver and black, stopping her friends from getting to her. They rotated around her, randomly firing.

 

“What do these guys want with you, Rey?” Poe cried.

 

“I don’t know!” she shouted. She flicked a few switches and jerked the joystick. The ship was non responsive and she screeched as a Vulture slammed down on her rear. She twisted around to watch it jab a silver blade through her BB-6 unit. The little astromech droid squealed and died. Rey felt her ship shudder again and lights began to blink in her ship.

 

Her comm crackled to life.

 

“Tell your friends to leave,” a guttural voice snapped, “and we will let them live.”

 

“They might live anyways,” Rey fired back. The voice chuckled darkly.  

 

“I’ve got hundreds more droids for them to fight. Sooner or later, they will tire. And we will still have more droids.” Rey tasted the truth in his words and swore under her breath. She weighed her options for a moment, staring at the blip of the supply freighter on her screen. She reached out with the Force, searching for something, before sighing sadly. She switched to the squad’s comm channel.

 

“Poe, Jess, get out of here,” Rey said quietly.

“We won’t leave you!” Jess insisted.

 

“It’s too late. It’s too clever a trap. That other ship is completely empty--a decoy. And I bet if you check the manifests, you’ll see a New Republic ship somewhere outside this system, torn to bits. They simulated the whole thing,” Rey explained. “Get back to base, let Luke know what happened. He’ll know what to do.” She sat back in her seat, hand on her lightsaber, as the X-wing was lifted into the Corvette’s belly.

 

A group of men were waiting for her, melee weapons on hand. She eyed the vibroblades and staff and blasters as she climbed out of her X-wing. Distress trilled through her and she squashed it down.

 

This was no time for fear.

 

She felt anger curl briefly within her and she banished it. Anger lead to the Dark side.

“Well, you have me,” she said curtly. “What do you want?”

 

A dark haired man stepped forward grinning, his lips curling oddly due to a long scar on his face.

“Do you remember me, lass?” he asked in a familiar accent. Rey furrowed her brow and shook her head.

 

“Can’t say that I do,” she replied.

 

“Bala Tik, and you did this to my face,” he snarled. Her eyes widened and she took a step back, mind returning to those terrifying moments with Han and Finn on Han’s freighter.

 

“What do you want with me?” she demanded shrilly.

 

“Oh, I don’t want you. I’m just here to get you,” Bala Tik shrugged. He nodded to someone behind her and Rey turned a second too late as a baton tapped her forehead. Blackness swept through her and she shouted Kylo’s name just before darkness overtook her.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Rey awoke, eyes thick and groggy. She was immediately assaulted by thick and pervasive smells and began gagging loudly. She had been shoved into a dimly lit cell that reeked of old sweat, blood, and sewage. She leapt up to bang on the door, ignoring the pounding in her head.

 

“Let me out!” she shouted. She heard a sound and whirled around to see a screen flicker on. Bala Tik stared ghoulishly at her.

 

“Enjoy your accommodations. They are the best we offer until we get to Nar Hutta.”

 

“Nar Hutta…” Rey stammered. She gestured around her tiny cell. “Do you really think they want me turning up smelling like bantha turds?” Bala Tik only tilted his head and smirked once before the image flipped off. Rey scowled as something started running, pipes clanging loudly. The ship groaned and water suddenly poured down from the ceiling.

 

She shrieked, trying to dodge the sprays, but it rained down everywhere. The droplets were cold and sharp and she huddled in a corner as it drummed down. Water rose to her ankles before it shut off. She shivered and began rubbing her arms for warmth before she heard another thud beneath her. The floor shuttered open and water began pouring out of the drains below.

 

Rey groaned as the cell now reeked of something faintly mildewy and sour. She paced across the damp floor, jumping up and down and reaching for the Force to warm her. She wondered if she could use the Force to unlock the door and began hunting for a mechanism.

 

She spent a fruitless hour looking for any sign that she knew this ship. She waited for someone to bring her food but no one came. She listened for footsteps, hoping to pluck images from their mind. Again, nothing.

 

Frustrated, Rey threw herself down on the damp slab that they called a bed, falling into a fitful doze. Wild images of stars, spaceships, and coordinates assaulted her before she jerked awake, breathing heavily. Her hand trembled as she pushed her damp hair back from her face.

 

A scream ripped through the air as Rey reoriented herself and she tensed, rolling lightly to her feet. She knelt in the corner, furtively scanning for a weapon. Dread rippled through her and she lifted her fists.

 

Something was terrorizing the crew.

 

Rey was panting as she crouched, waiting, waiting, waiting. She could hear screams and the ship groaned. She listened to blasters firing outside of her door and hurried feet pounding by. Shouts rang out loudly and she shrank back as a firefight raged outside her cell.

 

Then silence. Rey held her breath listening to heavy footsteps on the grate outside. The metal clanged with each step before ending in front of her door. Her heart sped up, her pulse jumping in her throat, and she prepared herself to fight.

 

The door slid open and Kylo strode into the room. His helmet was on and his lightsaber red and pulsing. She nearly gasped and almost fell backward. He was not who she was expecting.

 

“Are you alright?” he demanded immediately. She rose unsteadily and he crossed the room to offer her his hand. She heard him sniff through his helmet. “Gods, it smells foul.”

 

“Was that you?” she asked urgently. She felt the cockiness roll off of him and she sighed exasperatedly.

 

“I felt your distress so I came as soon as I could.”

 

“Pretty fast, I’d say,” Rey stated, happiness thick in her voice. Kylo reached up to caress her face. She could feel him frowning.

 

“Rey, you’ve been gone for three days.”

 

“What? No, I’ve been here only for a few hours!” She paused and frowned. “I wonder…” She thought back to the baton that touched her forehead and she reached up to rub the skin. It felt dry and patchy and she wondered if she had been burnt.

 

Kylo thrust something into her hand. It was her lightsaber. A sudden smile split her face as she clipped it on her flight suit belt.

 

“Are you here to rescue me?,” she retorted. “Or am I to rescue myself?”

 

“My ship is docked below. We have seven levels to get through assuming they haven’t figured out how to break its cloaking device.”

 

“They don’t make devices that small,” Rey said as she ducked out into hallway. Two shots flew toward her and she easily deflected them, sending them into the walls. Kylo flung a hand out and threw the man against the wall. He slumped down and they strode past him.

 

“We’ve been working on it,” Kylo informed her as they entered a lift. As the lift began to descend. he handed her a thermal detonator. “We’re gonna stop on the way down. Toss this in and I’ll deflect any blasters. Aim for the hull. It’ll distract them.”

 

“No kidding,” Rey muttered. The lift dropped quickly and Rey reached out with her senses, feeling urgency and panic among the crew.

 

“What did you do?”

 

Kylo smirked. “I had one of the droid wranglers re-program a vulture droid. It began drilling through the hull. Bit of a problem.” Rey stared at him a moment before giggling, a harsh edge in her voice.

 

“You’re wild.”

 

“If you only knew,” he stated, his voice suddenly dark and intimate. He curled one arm around her and pulled her to him. “Did they hurt you?” Rey blinked at his sudden surge of concern. It had never been one of their key elements before, lost in the rage of lust and desire and need.

 

“No. At least I don’t think so.” She stared at his hated mask as he ran his thumb over her forehead.

 

“Did they knock you out?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Hmmm. Bad job of it,” he muttered. “What do the Hutts want with you?” Rey shook her head, surprised that the Hutts were the ones who put a contract out on her. She’d been puzzling over her captors and felt Kylo’s consternation. At that moment the lift door open. She dropped to her knees, activated the thermal detonator, and lobbed it toward a wall. Kylo deftly blocked the blasters and she used the Force to slam the lift door shut. They heard the blasters pinging off of it as it began its descent again.

 

“Last rush,” he said, lightly rolling on his feet. Rey stood up and shook out her shoulders, unclipping her lightsaber. It sprang to life with a snap hiss as the doors opened. Kylo moved in front of her and their bond shimmered between them. Rey effortlessly slid into it and they clicked together, the bond tightening. When he angled up, she went low. When he twirled and flung soldiers into the hull, she blazed through them, lightsaber deflecting bolts rapidly.

 

“You favor defensive moves,” Kylo almost sneered as they dashed down a hallway.

 

“You always say that,” Rey sniped. A blaster bolt sizzled past them to hit the hull. Rey reached out for the mind and snagged the shooter. She threw his body into the hallway and Kylo casually sliced through him. Rey stared at the broken man and flashed back to her lonely nights huddled into her AT-AT. She wondered if he left someone behind.

 

A blaster bolt bit into her arm as she lingered.

 

“Rey!” Kylo snapped. He gathered her to him and grabbed the second blaster bolt in mid air. The shooter’s eyes widened and Kylo flicked his fingers sending the bolt back. It struck the shooter in the chest and he gurgled as he slid to the floor.

 

Rey pushed Kylo’s fingers off her, prying each one as he clung to her tightly.

 

“Let. Me. Go,” she panted.

 

“You’re hurt!”

 

“And you’re making it worse!” She winced as he jostled her shoulder. Kylo let go of her immediately, striding forward to the hanger. He was an unstoppable force, carving his way through the men, many who dropped their blasters and fled in terror. Rey trailed after him, grimacing each time she swung her blade to block a bolt.

 

Kylo raced toward a corner and Rey grabbed his cowl, following him around something that shimmered. He hit a button and the cloak dropped, revealing a mid-sized freighter, cannons along the top and bottom. He darted up the gangway and she followed.

 

“Take the gunner position,” he ordered as he slid into the pilot seat. The ship was larger than his modified TIE fighter, but smaller than the Falcon. Rey dropped down the two steps to slip into the gunner seat. She began to fire at the control tower, watching it explode as she and Kylo lifted off. They burst out of the Corvette and began swooping through the Vulture droids patrolling the ship.

Rey tapped into the Force, sinking into her senses, allowing it to guide her as she picked off the droids one by one. Her arm throbbed and she grit her teeth as the ship jolted with a particularly hard hit.

 

“Shields holding,” Kylo called. He twisted left and dove down, giving her clear aim. Rey fired quickly at several droids as the ship began to spiral. She continued to strike true with her aims, sure that without the Force, she’d just be wasting firepower.

 

“Hitting hyperspace now!” Kylo shouted. He hit the button and the star lines began to blur around them. Seizing the last seconds, a vulture droid darted forward and fired at them. Rey watched it get ripped apart by hyperspace and felt the ship shuddering beneath her feet. She turned to climb the ladder when she was hurled against the durasteel walls. Grasping her throbbing shoulder, Rey grabbed onto the ladder. The ship continued to roll wildly while Kylo shouted a string of curses.

 

The starlines spluttered around them as they were jerked out of hyperspace. Rey could hear alarms blaring and she slowly hitched herself upward as the ship spun out of control. When she slid into the cockpit, Rey blanched. They were dropping into a planet and almost were in atmo.

Rey swiftly moved into the copilot seat, shoving the pain in her arm out of her mind. She flipped a couple of switches and the ship steadied.

 

“It was trying to stop the fuel from jettisoning,” she said quickly. “Competing drives. Kriff the fuel. We need to survive.” Kylo only nodded, grabbing the joystick to guide the ship up. It skimmed atmosphere and Rey studied the controls.

 

“We need to land, now,” she ordered.

 

“No! Really?” Kylo snapped as he struggled to keep the ship from catching on fire as it dipped below the atmosphere. Rey stood up and toggled a few switches.

 

“Forward shielding up.”

 

“That droid must have hit a power line or something,” Kylo muttered as he nosed the ship down. Rey gripped the edge of the console firmly as Kylo kept the ship in a tightly controlled descent. Rows of jagged mountains threatened to snap the ship and eat them alive. Rey scanned the environment.

 

“There--land there,” Rey pointed to relatively flat area of land. She reached over to flick on the landing gear. But the light didn’t turn green. She heard a whine and a protest and she swore.

The landing gear was stuck.

 

“Hang on,” Kylo said grimly. He cut off the thrusters, reducing them to one sublight engine, allowing the ship to skate across the surface of the trees and slowing the ship down. Rey winced as the hull screeched loudly and rocked them in their chairs. She hastily slipped on the harness and leaned across to put on Kylo’s.

 

A long flat grassy plain stretched out before them. Rey inhaled sharply as Kylo brought the ship down, the bottom scraping the ground. They were hurled forward before being pitched sideways, Kylo shaking as he turned the ship into a controlled skid. Rey knocked her head on the side as the ship came to a screaming halt. Dust whirled outside the cockpit window as Rey gasped, patting herself down to check for injuries. She looked over at Kylo, who was twisting off his helmet. A long crack weaved its way down the side. He winced and gingerly touched his left temple.

 

“Are you alright?” she asked hoarsely. Kylo nodded and began to unharness himself. The ship shuddered warningly and Rey sniffed the air, a sharp tangy smell lingering.

 

“Smoke,” Kylo declared and they began to move faster.

 

“Food stores!” she shouted.

 

“Water! First aid!” He pointed at various cabinets in the ship. Smoke began filling the ship, curling around their feet as it drifted toward the ceiling. Rey uncovered two packs and began dumping water and portions into one of them. Kylo hustled over to her, blankets in one hand, blasters in the other. He shoved them in, flinging a piece of fabric at her. She shrugged on the poncho, coughing as the smoke began to burn her throat.

 

“We need to go!” she hollered. Kylo was punching a few buttons on a panel and scraping a few electronics off a table into the bag. Flames erupted from beneath them and Rey shrieked, jumping back to the ramp. It separated her and Kylo. He growled and gesticulated wildly. Rey felt the Force sweep the flames aside as Kylo leapt over them to join her. He hissed as they licked at the bottom of his boots.

 

Rey struggled with the door. It did not want to open. Snarling, she pushed with the Force, feeling the bolts straining.

 

“Let me help,” Kylo coughed. The smoke was nearly blinding them and she covered her nose with the poncho. She could almost see the Force glowing around them, brightening before the door shot outward. Smoke billowed around them and the flames were rapidly rolling toward them as they jumped down. Kylo grabbed her hand and began racing away from the ship. They were breathing heavily, wheezing, as they stumbled over the clumps of purplish grass.

 

Kylo tugged her along, Rey’s head aching as she followed hard on his heels. After what seemed like eternity to her but what was probably only a few moments, they heard a cracking. Kylo shoved her to the ground as the ship exploded, bits of metal winging overhead. He threw himself on top of her and both gasped as hot pieces of metal landed on them. He flicked them off and stayed crouched over her for a few minutes until the explosions stopped. She trembled beneath him, arm aching, until he rolled off of her. They inspected their slight burns as they eyed the blazing ship. In a few hours, it would be nothing but dust.

 

And they were stranded, wherever they were.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arachnophobes beware!

Rey surveyed the area in which they landed. Black plumes of smoke rose from the ship behind her. It was ragged, rugged area, startling her with its stern beauty. Purplish and brown grasses lined a small stream. They seemed to be in a valley, surrounded by jagged grey peaks whose tops were dusted with snow. The sky was grey with clouds overhead and wisps of fog clung to the ground.The air was crisp and cool and she was grateful for Kylo’s quick thinking. The poncho was long and heavy, keeping the chilliness at bay.

 

“We should go,” Kylo grunted. “Someone will see the fire and will come and investigate.”

 

“Do you know where we are?”

 

“Not a clue. Didn’t get a chance to see. I did an environment check and other than weather factors, it’s pretty compatible for human life.”

 

“I didn’t see any signs of civilizations as we came in,” Rey stated as she tidied up a pack. Kylo gestured toward a blaster and she slipped it in her hip holster, noticing that flight suit reeked from her stay in Bala Tik’s hold. She wrinkled her nose and slipped on the pack.

 

“Could be more primitive,” was all Kylo would say. He stood and observed the terrain. Rey pointed toward the stream.

 

“Would be smart to see where that leads,” she suggested. “People like to be near water. If it goes to a lake or an ocean…” Kylo merely grunted and stomped toward the stream. She trailed after him, studying the direction of the water. She pointed down the valley, past the ships’ ruins. He nodded and they took off, navigating around the large pieces of the ship stuck into the ground from the force of the explosion. She wrinkled her nose as the acrid smell of the ship grew stronger as they neared the wreck. She pulled the poncho up over her nose as they scurried past.

 

The first hour of their hike was spent in silence, observing the area around them. Short little bushes of spiky blue flowers attracted Rey’s attention until she realized that they were home to swarms of little black bugs that buzzed and poked at them, drawing blood. Kylo swatted at them as they attacked his nose and his ears and Rey dashed away as fast as she could.

 

“Well, wherever we are, it isn’t an easy place,” Rey mused. They continued to slog along the stream’s edge as it broadened into a wide and rushing river. Trees began to spring up, slim and pale with few leaves clinging to their branches. They were a pale green and Rey surmised that they must be in spring. Kylo nodded toward the clouds gathering and a distant flash of lightning.

 

“We need to find shelter,” Kylo said.

 

“Do you think we’ll reach some civ before then?”

 

“Doubtful. Reach out with your senses, Rey. Do you feel any humans?” They stopped and he stood patiently next to her as she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She could feel animal life chittering around her, fish winnowing in the water, and birds nesting in the trees. She couldn’t sense anyone even as she strained her senses. Kylo laid a heavy hand on her shoulder.

 

“Stop. Don’t over exert yourself,” he said. Rey wrenched her shoulder away, nursing her resentment of him. It was so easy for him to constantly be aware; he was deeply attuned to the Force. Rey often struggled for her connection. Kylo always told her it was because she was used to a passive sense of the Force--it helped her scavenge and survive, it helped her excel at piloting. Actively using it meant that she might have to admit that she was not as talented as she prided herself to be (whenever he caught her thinking this, Kylo always chided her, pointing out that her passive use of the Force was talented, especially as she never fought it, only encouraged it, allowed the connection to grow stronger. She didn’t believe him; after all, he still wanted to be her teacher and she only half heartedly let him when they were alone).

 

“Doesn’t this planet remind you of Ashera?,” Rey asked, changing the subject. Kylo began to cast around for shelter as they picked up the pace. Ashera was where he found her, following their bond, and where she first let herself fall to his charms. He certainly wasn’t her first kiss, but he was her first lover.

 

“A bit,” he replied offhandedly. Rey frowned and looked up as thunder rolled overhead. She studied the nearness of the mountain ranges as they closed in on them. The valley was growing thinner as the river was getting broader and Rey immediately seized upon an idea. She ran toward the mountains, jogging along the foothills where the hard stone met the grassy ground. And there, a little slip between two boulders.

 

“A cave!” she called. Kylo passed with his long legs and flicked on his lightsaber. Rey halted, cheeks rosy in the cool air from the exercise. Kylo spent a few moments investigating the cave before he came out.

 

“It’s not very big, looks like an animal lived there some time ago. I’ll gather some wood if you want to clean it out.” Rey planted her hands on her hip and thrust her chin forward.

 

“How about you clean it out while I gather wood? After all, I am a scavenger,” she challenged.  Kylo growled and shook his head.

 

“Is this a fight you really want to have? I’m more threatening than you.”

 

“We already agreed that there is no one here!” Rey retorted. “Besides, I’ve kicked your ass several times, so perhaps I’m really the bigger threat.”

 

Kylo stepped back and gave her a thin lipped smile. He bowed mockingly. “Take your time, sweets. I’ll be guarding the homestead.” He strolled back into the cave and Rey backed away, feeling slightly unsettled. She wasn’t sure why as she turned back around and headed down into the woods.

 

Rey wondered what Poe had told Luke and Leia. She wondered if they were out there looking for her. She wondered why the Hutts wanted her; she had certainly never tangled with them. She also wondered how she could complete her last trial as an apprentice. She didn’t want to kill Kylo.

 

She loved him too damn much.

 

She hated admitting it, even if only to herself. As if she were betraying Han, the Resistance, and everything that she stood for each time she let him kiss her. He was dark and cruel and he followed his orders even while he disagreed with how the First Order waged their war. (Privately, Rey thought it was just that he disagreed with whatever Hux wanted). But, despite disagreements, he never turned from the First Order, continuing to follow Snoke’s commands.

 

Rey huffed and wiped at her suddenly wet eyes. She began to gather pieces of wood, searching for a mixture of thick and thin pieces. She knelt and touched the moss and began to peel it off the ground. It could be a good fire starter, she reasoned.

 

She spied a larger log and bent to pick it up. A sharp sting pulsed through her hand and she drew back quickly, dropping all of her wood. Blood welled up on the top of her hand as she noticed a black many legged creature with two long pincers scuttle up the log. Cursing, Rey sucked on her hand, spitting out the blood. She gingerly gathered the rest of her logs, keeping an eye on the bug waving its pincers at her before she jogged back to the cave.

By the time she neared it, her hand was swelling and turning an odd purplish color. Thunder cracked overhead as she trudged toward the hill, her heart racing erratically and sweat sliding down her neck. She cried out as she stumbled forward, a few logs dropping with a thud. With one hand gripping the ground, Rey clambered up to the cave, her chest heaving with the effort.

 

Kylo exited the cave, beating a blanket against the rock. He saw Rey and with a cry, dashed toward her. He scooped her up in his arms and rushed her inside. Kylo had set up a few of the emergency lamp sticks that they packed and placed them on the floor, bathing the cave in an eerie green light. Kylo laid her down on something soft. She cried out, her flesh rippling with bumps, and she shivered.

 

“Got...bit,” she managed to say. Kylo cursed and covered her with a blanket. He ran out and she pushed the blanket off her aching hand. It was nearly three times the size and she fumbled for her lightsaber. If need be, she’d cut out the infection.

 

Kylo ran back in with the wood, piling them near her. He fumbled inside his bag for a moment before he began stacking some of the sticks up. In a few moments, he got a fire growing before he slid around to study Rey’s hand.

 

She hissed as he tentatively touched her puffy hand.

 

“What happened?” he asked, keeping his voice calm.

 

“Black...bug...stung me,” she gasped. Kylo ripped off his cowl and folded it, placing it under her head. He opened a water skein and trickled a little into her mouth.

 

“Alright, let me check the med kit,” he said soothingly as he pulled out one of the boxes from the bag. He leaned closer to a lamp and began rummaging through the box before he pulled out a couple of items. Kylo broke opened an ampoule, pulling the liquid into a syringe, and injected into Rey’s arm.

 

“That was an anti-venom that I just gave you. Now I’m going to use an antiseptic wash to clean the wound and then put a bacta patch on it, got it?” Rey could barely nod, her body racked with shivers, coldness gripping her tightly even as sweat ran in rivulets down her face and spine. Kylo spoke to her in a calm even voice as he administered the aid.

 

He knelt beside her for the next couple of hours as Rey drifted in and out of sleep. He would shake her awake and pour bits of water between her cracked lips. He used the last blanket to lift her arm up and to elevate her hand. Rey sweated profusely, flight suit clinging to her body, and cried out as sharp bouts of pain spiked through her body. He eventually gave her a shot of pain medication and she dozed fitfully.

 

The fire crackled loudly and Kylo rocked slightly as he watched her. She was half asleep, eyes fluttering as she struggled to stay awake. She inhaled deeply and allowed herself to float away as Kylo brought his hand up, pouring some water into a cloth, and putting it on her forehead.

 

“Can I not have one moment of happiness in my life?” he whispered. He sniffed and cast his eyes upward. “Or perhaps these months with her were grace enough. But they can’t be. They can’t be.” He leaned down to inspect her and Rey could feel his breath hot on her skin. She moaned and tried to turn her head away.  Kylo immediately responded by jerking away and pouring a little more water into her mouth. She sighed as the cool water eased her parched throat.

 

“Use the Force,” she murmured before slipping back into half asleep.

 

“Rey, you know that Force healing for someone like me…”  She heard him shift on the ground and hesitantly rest his hand on her shoulder. She shrieked as her hand pulsed sharply and she heard Kylo hiss. She watched through slitted eyes as he wiped off green pus oozing from the bite.

 

He inhaled heavily and seemed to make a decision. Kylo leaned over and kissed her forehead. She could only let out a little moan as she floated closer to darkness.

 

Suddenly--brightness.

 

Rey found herself standing on a field of flowers with Kylo. It was a gentle place, the sun shining warmly on them, butterflies flitting through the air.

 

“Where am I?” she asked dazedly.

 

“You’re with me. In the bond,” Kylo stated. “This is what we’ve created with one another.” He clasped his arms around her and pulled her to him, kissing her tenderly. She responded eagerly, sinking her hands into his mass of curls, thrusting her tongue into his mouth to savor the minty warm taste she associated with Kylo.

 

“Aren’t you eager?” he asked huskily and she laughed into his collarbone before dropping a line of kisses along his muscled shoulder.

 

“You always take the lead,” she replied somewhat pettily. Kylo chortled and grabbed her tightly, whirling them into a circle.

 

“I want to take you dancing one day,” he grinned. “Some place glittery and gold, dress you in the finest and watch everyone’s jaw drop at your splendor.” Rey threw her head back and laughed heartily.

 

“I don’t want gowns and gold.”

 

“I want everything for you, Rey. I want to give you everything,” Kylo said urgently. He stopped and kissed her fiercely, mouth open and seeking. She let herself fall into it, warmth surging through her. She pulled back first and gazed at him, slightly dazed. He ran a thumb over her swollen lips, traced her rosy cheeks, and curled a strand of hair behind her ear.

 

“What is it?” she asked quietly.

 

“I love you,” he confessed. “I always have. I feel like I can be the man I ought to be with you.” Rey drew back, her mouth falling open in astonishment. He continued: “Whatever you want, Rey, I’ll do it. I told you once--my childhood wasn’t exactly happy.” Rey nodded. They had spoken about his life on Hosnia with his parents--shuttled around, unhappy summers with Han in the Falcon, before being quickly packed off to Luke. No one ever spoke to him. No one would listen to him. They just talked at him and his frustration grew.

 

“But with you, I feel like all things are possible. That’s what you did, Rey. You awakened me to new possibilities.” The left side of his lips twitched upward, am almost awkward smile, and Rey bit her lip. She wasn’t sure how to respond and as Kylo’s brow furrowed, she knew that she was broadcasting loudly.

 

“I love you, too,” she said in a rush. “I just...I just don’t know what to do with that.”

 

“Love me,” he commanded. “That’s all.” Rey looped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly, a gentle tease with her tongue across his bottom lip. Kylo pulled her down onto the grass where a blanket appeared.

 

They spent ages exploring each other’s bodies. Rey kissed the hollow in his throat and left a line of wet kisses down to his navel. She swirled her tongue around his cock and he tugged her up impatiently to lick a stripe underneath each breast. She laughingly struggled with him, rolling him underneath her, and settled on his cock, gliding up and down the long length of him. He groaned at her heat and her slick and she felt the Force coalesce around him. This was always a part of their coupling---this living, breathing, vibrant thing that swirled between them, ebbing and crashing, intensifying every touch so that it almost seemed that Kylo was drawing a line of fire down her flesh as he trailed his fingers down to her breasts. Where her ragged breathing became his, the sudden flares of pleasure as he laved his tongue over her clit became his. They melded into another and Rey reveled in it.

Rey’s eyelashes fluttered against her skin and she muzzily studied the grey ceiling overhead, orange flickers illuminating its craggy nature. She inhaled fully, realizing that she was awake. And most of all, that the pain had almost subsided.

 

Fearing the worse, Rey glanced down at her hand. It was nearly healed, almost down to its normal size. The deep purplish color had faded and she flexed her fingers, pleased that only stiffness greeted the movements.

 

Rey slowly sat up, a wave of dizziness stopping her for a moment. She threw her hand out to steady herself and it landed on Kylo. He was crumpled on the floor, his skin ashen, his breathing shallow. Rey scooted over to him and shook him hard.

 

“Kylo! Kylo!” she cried. “Wake up! Ben!” He blinked once, twice and rolled over.

 

“Just a few more minutes, mom,” he grumbled and slid back into sleep. Rey checked his pulse and found it beating strongly. She sighed and shook her head.

 

Rey studied her hand and wondered at the sudden change. Judging from the light pouring in from the cave, it was daylight now. She could hear birds singing in the forest. She pondered what happened and the vision of a field, their bodies pressing and pulling one another, eliciting groans of pleasure, sprang up in her mind. Rey’s gaze moved quickly between Kylo and her hand.

There was only one possibility.

 

He had tapped into the light side of the Force and he had healed her.


	5. Chapter 5

****

Rey stared down at Kylo’s sleeping form, her mind racing with possibilities. Had she somehow done it? Had she convinced him to turn to the light? Was her life or her death that meaningful to him?

 

She ruminated on what she learned about Force healing. She was a true novice at it, excelling more in battle meditation and telepathic areas. Luke had said it required a true and constant connection to the Force. Healing wasn’t a quick thing--it required deep concentration and constant reapplication. And for a Dark sider to access the Force to heal, they would need to be able to tap into a deep vein of pain or anger.

 

True, Rey was in pain but he had been doing all he could to ameliorate it. And her pain was not nearly enough to sustain a healing that had lasted for hours, judging by the state of her hand. She studied Kylo urgently, searching for any self-wounds but found none.

 

That left one possibility--he had always felt a call to the light. And he had succumbed to it.

For her.

 

Rey’s heart fluttered in her chest, a soft sob escaping her lips. The realization that Kylo truly loved her, that whatever they had between them wasn’t a product of the Force, rocked her back and tears slid down her cheeks. For months now, as they visited each other in their dreams or arranged for brief rendezvous where clothes were shed and bodies caressed and they never talked, she just assumed that this was some sort of infatuation. She knew where her heart lay and she had cursed it daily.

 

She wondered perhaps if she were reading too much into it. And then she frowned, half remembering his words, almost as if they were a dream. His plea that he continue forward with the grace that he had received. She realized that she was becoming a sodden, snuffling mess and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

 

“Rey?” Kylo asked sleepily. He rolled over and looked at her from beneath long black lashes. “Are you alright?”

 

“Yes, yes, of course.” She smiled. She lay down and snuggled next to him, resting her cheek on his chest. He draped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

 

“How you feeling?”

 

“Better.”

 

“Good, good. We’ll need to give you another anti-venom injection, I think, at least that’s what the directions say.” Kylo stopped and cleared his throat. Rey marveled in the moment. She had never woken up next to him, never saw his sleepy eyes and mussed hair. She cherished the moment and locked it away for treasured perusal later.

 

“I think there is instant caf in the one of the bags,” Rey suggested and Kylo sighed gustily.

 

“Thank the Force,” he exclaimed. He sat up and gently picked up her hand. “Almost as good as new.”

 

“Kylo--”Rey began but was cut off by shouts outside. Kylo leapt to his feet, hand at his lightsaber in an instant. Soldiers burst into the cave, blasters drawn, with Finn in the lead. His face was stern and Rey gaped at him.

 

“Finn!” she exclaimed. Finn’s gaze flickered over her before returning to Kylo, blaster pointedly aimed at his chest.

 

“Step away from her,” Finn ordered. Kylo hesitated for a moment, looking down at Rey, before lifting his hands and moving away. Three soldiers rushed him and tackled him to the ground. Rey screamed, struggling to her feet to hit them, before a wave of dizziness overtook her and she tumbled to the ground. Kylo roared, fighting against the soldiers even as they snapped binders on his wrists. His eyes glazed over and he slumped forward.

 

“Stop! Stop!” she screamed. “He saved my life!”

 

“He’s Kylo Ren, Rey. You’re one person. What about the billions he destroyed in Hosnia?” Finn replied darkly. He looked at Rey. “Are you alright?”

 

“Please listen to me, Finn,” Rey said. Finn gave her an encouraging but skeptical look. “I got bit by some kind of insect and Kylo helped me. I nearly died and he’s still helping me. You know, with the Force.” Rey stated her case coolly and convincingly. Finn looked between them before nodding at the soldiers.

 

“Keep them together,” Finn reluctantly commanded. He lowered his blaster fractionally and gestured toward Rey. “Are you able to walk?”

 

“She shouldn’t,” Kylo growled. “She should rest.” Finn hesitated for a moment before issuing an order into his comm. Rey scooted toward Kylo and sat near him.

 

“Are you alright?,” she whispered. Finn scowled at them and Kylo bent his head toward hers.

 

“I’m fine. Just do as he says,” he replied, lips brushing her temple. Rey frowned.

 

“How did you find us?” she asked Finn.

 

“Distress signal. Sent to Leia on her personal channel.  The location was vague so Luke sort of meditated until he was able to lock onto you. He’s waiting on the ship that’s in orbit.”

 

“Distress signal…” Rey mused. She thought back to Kylo rapidly typing into the ship’s comm before they fled. She thought it was to hide them or to get a readout on the environment. But no. He had called his mother. Knowing that she would send the Resistance and that he would be captured or abandoned on this planet.

 

She turned to stare at him, confusion and wonder warring on her face.

 

“Why would you do that?” she demanded, her voice plaintive. Kylo shrugged, his face shuttered. It was clear that he would not talk in front of the others.

 

A stretcher was carried in and Rey placed on it. Finn took Kylo’s lightsaber before warily handing it to Rey. The soldiers brought them to a small shuttle nearby the cave. Soon, they arrived on the battleship and Rey was hurried into a med ward where she was examined, poked, and prodded.

 

“You were bitten by a dornieke spider,” the med droid explained. “They are deadly within a day. I’m not sure how you are alive.” Rey brushed him off, trying to reach Kylo through the Force but feeling only a void. She was deeply unsettled; even when he was with Snoke and trying to block her out, she felt him, a general tugging in her mind. This was the first time that tug was gone, that presence that she always carried absent.

 

Worry gnawed at her and she snapped at everyone. They hooked her up to a machine, pumping more medicine into her, and she used the Force to aid the healing. In what seemed like hours later, the door slid open and Luke solemnly stepped in. He surveyed her quickly and moved to stand by her, reviewing her medical readout.

 

“I see your skills in Force healing have improved,” he said quietly. “How are you feeling?”

 

“It wasn’t me!” she insisted. “Kylo healed me. I was almost completely unconscious.”

 

Luke frowned. “Tell me more.”

 

Rey explained everything that had happened from the moment she was captured until Finn arrived. She brushed over some parts, such as the mental sex she and Kylo engaged in while he healed her, and told him her conclusions about how he was able to do so. Luke listened attentively, asking a few clarifying questions.

 

“Luke, he saved my life,” she concluded. “I would have died at the hands of the Hutts, I’m sure, and then with the spider bite...he’s not what you think he is.”

 

“And what do you know of what I think about him?” Luke retorted, eyes crinkling. Rey couldn’t tell if it was in jest or in seriousness.

 

“You told me to kill him,” she responded sullenly. “You said that to be a Jedi, I had to kill Kylo Ren.”

 

“Did I?” Luke countered. “I’m not sure that’s what I said. I said you had to end Kylo Ren. You interpreted that as killing.” Rey frowned and thought back to their conversation. It was true that Luke had not said kill; but Rey didn’t know any other way to read those words.

 

“Rey, a Jedi does not seek to bring death but to bring knowledge and peace to the world around him. In some ways, a death can accomplish that. But would killing Kylo bring peace?” Luke gently prodded.

 

“Luke…” Rey began, before snapping her mouth shut. She eyed him carefully, wondering how much he knew. She took a gamble: “How long have you suspected?”

 

“Well, I saw a Force bond immediately and couldn’t figure out with whom at first. Maybe Finn, since you talked about him a lot. But when I saw you and Kylo fight on Geonosis, I knew. He was so careful with you, Rey. And Leia kept insisting that there was Light within him,” Luke paused and chuckled. “She read your graduation trial the same as you did.” Rey thought back to the surge of anger she felt and smiled wryly.

 

“I guess we’re protective of him,” she admitted shyly and Luke nodded.

 

“I am too. I lost my nephew to the Dark side. But my Ben would never completely fall. He was too powerful, too self-assured in his connection with the Force, even if he was socially awkward.  When you told me what happened on Starkiller, I knew he wasn’t completely gone. I knew there was still a chance. Just like with my father.” Luke stared sadly out her small window at the starlines of hyperspace. He seemed lost in thought and Rey tentatively reached out to lay her hand on his. He looked down and smiled tiredly.

 

“I don’t know if you brought him back, Rey. But we have a chance now. And Leia and I will always be grateful for that.” He stepped away and strode toward the door, pausing to look back at her. “You know you have a hard road ahead of you, right? He will most likely go on trial. Leia and I will do what we can. There is that stigma around him. It will make things difficult for you.”

 

“I love him, Luke,” Rey burst out, surprised at herself. But she couldn’t take the words back and she raised her chin defiantly. Luke gave her a curt nod.

 

“Then I wish you the best of luck.” He exited the room to leave her alone with her increasingly disturbing thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

Rey was considered fully healed by the time they arrived on Dantooine. She hurried through the base, searching for Leia. She found the General deep in thought in her office, a cooling cup of caf on her desk, the lines thick on her face. She looked up when Rey entered, tenderness blooming on her face.

 

“My girl,” she croaked and Rey rushed to her, enfolding her in her arms.

 

“Are you alright? Is he alright?” Rey inquired. Leia nodded and wiped at the corner of her eye.

 

“He’s in a special cell that prevents him from using the Force. Luke designed it, against my wishes,” she groused. “He asks constantly about you. Rey, what has been going on between you and my son?” Rey drew back and bit her lip, wondering how much to disclose to Leia. She wasn’t dealing with her commander now; she was dealing with a mother, and she wasn’t sure how to navigate that conversation.

 

In her silence, a smile began to spread across Leia’s features and a knowing look gleamed in her eyes. Rey blushed.

 

“Well, he did remind me of his father when he was younger,” Leia teased and Rey’s cheeks grew redder. She stood up and moved a respectful distance away. Leia laughed, loud and clear.

“Please, I couldn’t be happier. So my son has found love,” she mused. She tilted her head and studied Rey who squirmed under her scrutiny. “Beautiful, fearless, strong. Yes, I can see the attraction.”

 

“Well, it started out oddly,” Rey confessed. “Somehow, on Starkiller, we forged some sort of Force bond. He used it to torment me first. But I was able to see through that to see the boy that got lost. And it just sort of grew from there.” She shrugged helplessly. “I love him. And I think he loves me. We can’t let him die. He’s changed.”

 

“Has he said that he loves you?” Leia asked, intrigued.

 

“He has but sometimes, sometimes it feels it’s a way for him to tempt me to the Dark Side. I hated those conversations.” She paused and gathered her thoughts. Leia nodded encouragingly. “But he healed me. I was dying. Force healing requires a strong and constant use of the Force. You can’t get that easily with the Dark side. You have to tap into the Light. For him to embrace that…” She trailed off, unsure of how to finish. Leia seemed to grasp her intent and pursed her lips.

 

“There’s only one way to find out,” Leia concluded. She rose and brushed off her gown. “I’m going to speak with Ben. You may observe from outside his cell.” She strode past Rey who scrambled to follow her down the twisty staircases that lead deep beneath the base. Rey watched as Leia slowly entered in her code to access his cell. Rey filed away the information for further use, suspecting Leia would only show her if she had some sort of plan.

 

Kylo was held in a durasteel cage at the end of a hallway. It was a dark and lonely place with only a few soldiers standing guard.

 

“This is Rey,” Leia informed the head guard. “She has permission to speak with the prisoner whenever she wants.” The guard nodded and Rey watched with bated breath as Leia entered the cell to confront her son whom she hadn’t seen in a dozen years.

  
  
  


Rey’s heart ached to see Kylo again, but she comforted herself by observing him behind an obscuring glass. He seemed alright, almost bored, fingers laced behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. He was not cuffed or chained and his room was comfortable looking with a desk, a bed, and two chairs.

 

He jerked up when Leia entered and Rey saw the consternation flying across his face before he schooled it into something impassive.

 

“How’s Rey?” he demanded without preamble. Leia stared at Kylo.

 

“She’s fine,” she finally replied curtly. “She’s out of the medward. She’s insisting you saved her life. Is that true?”

 

“Why would the Hutts want her?” Kylo countered. Leia took a step toward him and Kylo shrank back. He seemed unnerved by his mother’s presence. She stood regally and folded her hands before her.

 

“Ben,” she uttered softly and Kylo’s face crumpled. “How could you?” Rey’s breath caught in her throat and she watched Kylo’s eyelids flutter, his features forlorn.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Yes, you do.”

 

“I thought...I thought,” he paused and swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I thought it was the only choice. Snoke threatened...Snoke…”

 

“He’d been after you your whole life, Ben. Don’t lie to me. When I was pregnant with you, I could feel a dark presence. I should have seen the signs when you would suddenly burst with anger. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t there in the way you needed me to be.” Leia’s voice was at once both stern and gentle and Kylo seemed to grasp for a reaction. Anger, hope, and despair flashed across his face and Rey’s heart ached. She wanted to race in there and cradle him.

 

“I’m sorry,” he eventually got out and Leia licked her lips.

 

“I don’t want your apologies, Ben. I want to know what you are going to do to make it better. To fix it.” Kylo stared at her aghast.

 

“I can’t fix it. Dad can’t come back,” he almost shouted. A small gasp escaped Rey. She had never heard Kylo refer to Han as Dad. Here, with Leia, he was a wounded little boy and Rey urged Leia mentally to comfort him.

 

Leia took a seat at the small table jutting out from the wall. Rey could see a tray of half eaten food there. Leia picked off a piece and began chewing. She sighed.

 

“Alderaanian flatbread,” she said and Kylo jerkily moved toward her.

 

“You used to make that,” he said.

 

“Sometimes,” she kindly replied. “To soothe you.” Leia gave a sad little smile before continuing: “To answer your question, the Hutts wanted Rey because they still want revenge for Jabba. They’ve never quite recovered from his death and since they couldn’t find you, they went for her. We are known to be close.” The implication in those words did not escape Kylo who licked his lips and looked away.

 

“I didn’t know.”

 

“They tell me it's a miracle that she lived. You were always good at healing with the Force.” Leia paused a moment, almost unsure before she pressed on: “What I want to know is, after everything that you’ve done, what do you expect will happen next?  Why did you call the Resistance? Why not just run off with her, Ben? She obviously cares about you.” Her words hung in the air and Kylo sank down on his mattress, head buried in his hands.

“Why not call the First Order?” Leia prodded.

 

Kylo spoke slowly, almost in fits, terror thick in his voice. “Because I know what Snoke wants her for. And I couldn’t let it happen. He wants to use her to lure in Luke. If she didn’t cooperate, he’d crush her mind, leaving her alive just to breed her. She has too much power...we have too much power, for him not to want to try to duplicate.” Dread snatched Rey, stole her breath and she banged on the observation panel. Kylo’s head snapped up as Rey dashed toward the door, flinging it open.

 

“Rey,” he began, hands in front of him, cheeks red.

 

“You knew!” she accused. “Is this why you wanted me to join you? So you could breed me like some moof?!” She spat the words at him, hardly conscious of Leia coming to stand beside her. Kylo looked away, his color high, and his mouth drawn in a tight line.

 

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to know!” he snarled. “It’s a bad plan and it would never happen!”

 

“Why not?” Rey screeched. “Saving me just for yourself?”

 

“No, because I wouldn’t let it!” he bellowed. “Do you think I’d let Snoke chain some woman up to breed her? Especially you?! Especially you. It was reprehensible and disgusting and he’s doing it partially to weed out what my compassion for you means. How deep it runs.” Kylo paused, breathing heavily. He gestured around him. “And this is his answer. This is where my compassion for you gets me, Rey. Gets us.”

 

Rey stared at him, fury blending into wariness, her fists clenched at her side. Her blood raced with the betrayal, her mind screaming at her to consider his words. Tension stretched between them, taut and poignant.

 

“Snoke’s gone mad on power,” Leia spoke softly, almost to herself. Kylo gave her a curt nod and gazed at Rey defiantly.

 

“I thought you loved me,” she got out, as if choking on the words. Kylo winced, pain shimmering in his eyes.

 

“I do,” he replied awkwardly, striding toward her. Rey shirked away and Leia caught her, holding her tight.

 

“Rey,” he began and she shook her head.

 

“Not now. I can’t. I can’t. Don’t you see?” she pleaded. “All those times we met, all the times you called to me.You kept asking me to join you!”

 

“It was never a trap. Never,” he swore. She sniffed and pointed at him.

 

“But I can never know that.”

 

“You can, you know you can. Use the Force,” he urged her. Rey slid out of Leia’s arms and paused at the doorway, looking back at Kylo. Regret sat heavy on his face and she bit her lip as she left him behind.


	7. Chapter 7

Rey spent the rest of the afternoon running and meditating in the thick forest. She was pissed at herself for concocting a story of love; she was pissed at herself for doubting the depth of his feelings. At this point, she wasn’t sure what she felt. He didn’t outright lie to her, but he hid things from her and it was akin to a lie.

 

Rey couldn’t stand liars.

 

She collapsed on to the ground, panting, s the sun began to slide beneath the horizon. She heard footsteps crunching on the fallen pine needles and looked over to see Finn, a sad lopsided smile on his face. He picked up her canteen and handed it to her before he folded himself into a graceful sit.

 

“What are you fighting, Rey? Yourself or him?” he asked without preamble. Rey swore and sat up, taking a deep swallow of water. She pulled her knees up, draping her arms over them and stared at a pair of birds hopping along a branch.

 

“I wouldn’t think you’d care.”

 

“Well, peanut, I care about you...and if you care about him,” Finn shrugged, spreading his hands helplessly. “I’ll learn to deal with it. We all will. What I care about is that you are okay.”

 

“I don’t know. I don’t know,” Rey repeated forcefully. “He’s so confusing.”

 

Finn chuckled wryly. “He’s probably pretty confused about himself.” She shot him a puzzled look.

 

“Hey, when I was a stormtrooper, Kylo Ren was terrifying. None of us wanted to serve under him. His temper was legendary. But when he saw me at the village of Tuanul, he saw me disobey direct commands. And he did nothing. It’s almost as if he doesn’t know where he stands. And then you come in and mix things up. You’re mixed up, too, Rey. Scavenger to Jedi. You need to be kind to yourself.” He poked her in her side and she giggled.

 

“When did you get so wise?”

 

“Ah, spending all my time with Poe and Rose. Those two, they’ve got their heads on.” He winked at her and she laughed heartily.

 

“And you’re happy with Poe?” she politely asked although she longed to know all the steamy details. He tilted his head and considered before speaking.

 

“Love is a difficult thing during peace. Trying to find time to love someone during war--it makes it all a rush. It gives everything a heavy significance, even if it is something as simple as sharing aftershave or making lunch. And who knows how much of the love is true and how much stems from a panic that you may not return from your next mission?” He shrugged philosophically. “Poe and I care deeply about one another. We call it love. We are committed to making it work, even after this war. It sounds boring. But it’s not all kisses and roses and poetry. A lot of times it’s dirty and rushed and sad. But I do know that my life is fuller and better with him in it, with him by my side, than it was before.”

 

Rey absorbed his words, offering him a slight smile. He poked her again and she swatted his hand, leaning into him.

 

“The fountain of wisdom, you are,” she told him and he tittered. They sat in silence, each lost in their thoughts, before picking their stuff up and trekking back to base before dark completely fell.

 

That night, after she showered, after the base began to slumber except for the night crews, Rey dressed again in slim grey pants, boots, and a burgundy short sleeved tunic. She quietly moved down the stairs to Kylo’s cell and punched in Leia’s code. The door swung open and the guards barely looked up as she entered.

 

“He’s not asleep,” one informed her. “And he won’t touch his food.” She acknowledged him with a swift nod before striding into the cell.

 

Kylo was staring glumly at the ceiling, stripped down to his black tank and leather pants. She hungrily took in the lean look of his form as he sat up and raked his gaze over her. The tension still shimmered in the air and she didn’t know if it was purely them or the bond again.

 

“What you did was wrong,” she burst out. “But I understand why. I just--”

 

“No, I don’t think you do,” he cut her off. “This is new to me too, Rey. I never thought I could care for someone as much as I do for you. I’m terrified. I’m terrified of what Snoke will do if he finds out--how he will use me to lure you in. I’m frightened, okay? So I did what I could.”

 

Rey inhaled shakily. “You love me, don’t you, you bastard?”

 

“You already know the answer to that question,” he admitted softly. They flowed into each other, arms clutching one another tightly, as mouths sought to ease the pain so evident on their faces. She pecked at his lips, dabbing his cheeks with light little kisses. He nipped her nose, her forehead, smoothing her wild strands back, before burying his nose in her hair. They both held themselves back as they comforted one another, falling in a tangle of limbs onto his bed.

 

“They can see us,” she whispered into his neck.

 

“I’ll keep it clean,” he promised. “Too bad we can’t use the Force here.” She snickered and swatted his arm.

 

“That’s not what the Force is for.”

 

“Says the girl who delved into my dreams and woke up with wet panties for weeks,” he chuckled darkly, nibbling her earlobe. She breathlessly laughed and sucked at the pale skin where his shoulder met his neck.

 

“I could say the same for you. Sending me fantasies when you knew I was in training,” she retorted.

 

“I was in great need,” he pleaded mockingly, his hand skating down her side to cup her breast. He massaged her breast, his thumb circling her skin, inhaling sharply as her nipple pressed against the fabric of her tunic.

 

“Don’t,” she half pleaded. He grinned cheekily and bent his head to suck her nipple, his teeth rasping over the fabric. She sighed, arching her hips into him, his hand skimming down to rest on her hip. The other hand still plucked and teased at her tits until she was writhing beneath him.

“We never get to take it this slow,” he complained. “All we do is rush, rush, rush.”

 

“You’re the one who is always worried about leaving a trail for the First Order to follow,” she gasped as his hand slipped between her thighs. He curled his fingers against her damp clothes and her breathing hitched.

 

“And you’re the one who is always afraid Luke is gonna find out,” he growled, sliding up to claim her lips with his, tugging her bottom lip between his teeth.

 

“Well,” she rasped, “we won’t have much time to go slow.”

 

“Why’s that?”

 

“Because Finn is going to set off some bombs on the south side and create a distraction.”  Kylo reared back to stare down at her, a half smile lingering on his lips.

 

“You’d leave them? For me?”

 

“They want your death,” she blurted out. “I heard Leia arguing with Vice Admiral Holdo. We just need  some time.” Kylo cocked his head, deep in thought. Rey strained to feel something in the Force, to grasp at what he was thinking. But he was a blank wall.

 

Reluctantly, Kylo shook his head, dipping down to kiss her tenderly.

 

“I’m sorry, Rey. I have to face the consequences of my actions.”

 

“I could lose you!” Kylo stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

 

“I’ll always be with you and with the Force. I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.”

 

Rey shoved him off of her, scrambling to her feet. She ran to the door, banging on it. She looked back regretfully before escaping into turmoil. The guards were speaking rapidly into comms and tapping messages out onto their datapads.

 

She rushed past them only to collide into Luke on the stairs.

“Where’s Ben?” he demanded. She gaped at him before collecting her wits. He would guess her plan, she thought ruefully.

 

“He refused to come with me. He says he has to to face the consequences.” A sob unwillingly escaped her and Rey swore. Luke gazed at her with kind, compassionate eyes.

 

“Love makes us strangers to ourselves sometimes,” he murmured. “Rey, you’ve done it.”

 

“Done what? Made a fool of myself?” Even she was surprised by the bitterness in her voice and wondered if Luke would chide her for it. Instead he smiled.

 

“No, you’ve ended Kylo Ren. It’s over. There is no Kylo in that cell anymore. There is Ben. You’ve done it. You and Leia and Force knows what else. He’s freeing himself from Snoke--thanks to you.”

 

Rey stared at him skeptically. “So what you’re saying is that I used my feminine wiles to bring him back to the Light?” Luke burst our laughing and shook his shaggy head.

 

“No, of course not. You brought joy to Ben. He thought himself a loveless, unloveable child. You showed him possibilities, first with your friendship, and then with your love. Kylo Ren was fashioned out of despair and lies. You’ve aided him in beginning to see through those lies.” His eyes were shining as he laid a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve completed your last trial. The last thing we must know, in our very bones, Rey, is that we are luminous beings, not this crude matter. We are one with the Force. Ben resisted that for years, listening instead to whatever lies Snoke fed him about the Force being personal. The Force is about all of us connected. Ben sees that now. We are one with the Force and the Force is with us.”

 

Rey listened to this pretty speech dazedly.

 

“He’s going to die,” she repeated stupidly, confused as to why Luke was not grasping this salient point.

 

“Is he?” Luke queried. “You heard me and Leia, I suspect?” Rey warily nodded and narrowed her eyes. “I’m glad to know our little plan succeeded. I didn’t think the vocal manipulator to make me sound like Holdo would work.”

 

“You planned this?”

 

“Well, we had to get Ben to fully see himself again. He was mostly there. We just needed a final push. And well,” Luke shrugged, “it seems like he made that leap.” Rey slapped Luke’s arm and he pulled back with a loud “Ouch!”

 

“You let me think?!”

 

“Blame Leia,” Luke said instantly. Rey scowled at him before stomping back down the stairs. The guards watched her as she wrenched open the door, using the Force to help her rip it off the hinges. Kylo looked up from where he was sitting, head in his hands.

 

“You’re free. There’s no plot to kill you, Ben Solo,” she growled. Kylo’s brow shot up and he stood, smoothing down his pants.

 

“I’m no longer that man,” he said.

 

“Well, you’re something and I’m not sure what that is,” she shot back. Kylo crossed the room and exited, sighing in relief. She watched as he stretched his arms out, the guards eyeing them confusedly. One called Leia in his comm almost surreptitiously.

 

“I can feel you again,” Kylo said joyously. Luke took that moment to step into the room.

 

“Stand down,” he ordered the guards. “You’re free to go. We thank you for your service. Please report at 0800 for your next assignment.” The guards exchanged puzzled looks before trooping dutifully out. Kylo considered Luke wearily.

 

“What do you want?”

 

“Nothing. Just to give you some choices,” Luke promised. “The Jedi are over. I’m not restarting an order. Rey is my last student. But she still needs a teacher. That could be you, Ben.”

 

“That’s not my name.”

 

Luke dismissed the complaint. “Okay then, Kylo. But you’ll never get your mother to call you that.”

 

“What’s your offer?” Kylo countered.

 

“You can stay here and fight. We can’t call you Kylo. You can take a new name. You can help repair some of the damage. Or you can flee. A lot of it, I think, depends on that lovely young woman,” Luke gestured toward Rey who studied both men. “But those are your options. We aren’t turning you in.”

 

“How do you know I won’t just return to the First Order?” Kylo said in a churlish tone. Rey nudged him with her toe and he rolled his eyes.

“Do you want to return to Snoke? Now that you have this new knowledge about yourself? About Rey?” Luke challenged. Kylo turned his gaze to Rey, regarding her. He pursed his lips and seemed lost in thought. Rey felt her heart sink and she sternly told herself to gather her courage. She lived without Kylo before; she could learn to live without him again.

 

“No,” Kylo pronounced. “I can never go back.” Luke exhaled gustily and Rey realized that they were all waiting with bated breath. Kylo linked his fingers through hers and smiled tenderly down at her. She narrowed her eyes and he chuckled. “I want to stay by her side, if she’ll let me. And if she’ll let me teach her, there is a lot I can show her.”

 

“I’ll take it under consideration,” Rey retorted and Kylo grinned.

 

“I’ll work hard at winning you over.”

 

“Oh gosh, save it for your bunks,” Luke groaned. “You’re worse than your parents.” Kylo blushed at that and Rey giggled, leaning into Kylo.

 

“Ben,” she whispered huskily and his cheeks flushed red, uncertainty in his gaze.

 

“What job will you take?” Luke inquired.  Kylo pondered the question for a long time and Rey titled her head.

 

“We need pilots and mechanics,” she offered and Ben frowned.

 

“I’m not that good with machines,” he grimaced.

 

“It’s okay,” she teashed. “I can teach you. I can show you the ways of mechanics.” Kylo’s face split into a shy grin at the reminder of their first fight. Luke swept out of the room, muttering under his breath about lovesick fools.

 

“You want me to work under you, do you?” Kylo asked lightly, lips brushing her forehead.

“And any other way you can think of,” Rey taunted.

 

“In that case, perhaps we can teach each other,” he whispered, cupping her chin and lifting her face up to kiss her senseless. She allowed herself to become lost in the sensation of his lips on hers.

 

And later that night, she was consumed by his teachings, his tongue and his hands coaxing her to a slow heady pleasure that they never experienced before. Kylo was a considerate lover, tender and almost celebratory and she reveled in his touches, the motion of his skin slipping over hers as he slid inside of her. He gathered her in his arms and sank inside of her, their bodies dewy with perspiration, their lips constantly roving and seeking pleasure in one another. He brought her over again and again until she was a graceless, limpid thing, caged between his arms.

 

“Stay with me,” he pleaded in the darkness. Rey kissed his plush bottom lip and he hungrily captured her mouth with his, prolonging the contact. He pulled back, sweeping his tongue against hers, and sighed.

 

“Yes, Ben,” she replied. He groaned and she snuggled up against him, her heart thrumming with excitement as she thought about the new days dawning before them.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Rey’s brow furrowed in concentration, the tip of her tongue peeking out between her lips as she focused intently on the task at hand. As the last piece clicked into place, Rey sighed and sagged in her seat. Large warm hands settled on her shoulders and began to knead them.

 

“Excellent,” Ben complimented her softly. “Now you just need the final piece.”

 

“Yeah, but where do I find a kyber crystal? The First Order possess most of those planets and have rendered many of them wastelands,” Rey complained. The husk of her own lightsaber lay before her on the table. Luke had given her the materials necessary, saying they were the makings of her own graduation present. Under Ben’s tutelage and with the guidance of the Force, Rey fashioned a saberstaff that looked more like her old staff from Jakku. The weight felt comfortable in her hands. But without the crystal, it was nothing more than a sculpture.

 

“Ahhh, what would I be without a gift of my own?,” Ben tutted, opening a drawer in the desk they were working at. He pulled out a simple black box and waved his hand, the box lid lifting to reveal a small clear kyber crystal. Rey’s mouth dropped open.

 

“Where’d you get this?!”

 

“I’ve been hoarding them. One day mine’s going to officially crack and I’m going to need a new one,” Ben replied. “Besides, um,” he rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. “I kind of always hoped to take you on as a student and give you one.” Rey gazed steadily at Ben. It had been a few weeks since he walked out of his cell. Each day was a struggle. Some days he was more successful than most. Rey discovered that a relationship with a person that she saw everyday was vastly different than a Force bond and hurried couplings.

 

There was more time for explorations, for learning one another. For shared meals in the cafeteria, for learning how he took his caf (with lots of cream and sugar). For squabbling over who had dibs on the shower first and teasing when she stole all the blankets. For becoming frustrated with living with another person, especially when both were too used to living alone.

 

Rey was grateful that the base on Dantooine was surrounded by deep forests in which she could get lost. She suspected Ben was too.

 

Despite that, they found a harmony with one another and she savored waking up in his arms each morning, watching his serene expression as his long lashes fluttered against his pale skin. How she would soothe his wrinkled brow and send calm thoughts down their bond. How he would always demand a kiss first thing in the morning, tender and sweet.

 

Rey’s heart constricted as she started at the clear gem and blinked back tears as she took it out of the box.

 

“Now here’s the tricky part,” Ben was saying. He walked her through the steps and left the room. If she did this wrong, then there wouldn’t be enough pieces of her to pick up. She needed to be distraction free and, well, he was a distraction.

 

Hours later, Rey emerged from their rooms, a sweaty, shaky mess. She caught the scent of Ben’s presence and followed it out of the base and into the forest. The evening sky was a brilliant orange and violet, warm air pressing on her skin. She crossed through the forest until she stumbled upon a meadow, all tall yellow tipped grasses and a riot of red and purple flowers. In the middle stood Luke, Ben, and Leia.

 

Leia extended her hand toward Rey, a welcoming smile spreading across her face. Rey crossed the meadow until she met them, noticing a blanket spread out on the ground and silver containers of food.

 

“Ben has pointed out that I’ve not quite done my job,” Luke began without preamble. “The old records--”

 

“None of that now,” Ben chided. “We’re starting something new.” Luke snorted and turned his weary eyes, sparkling with pride onto Rey.

 

“Show me,” he prompted. Rey took a step back and held her saberstaff in front of her. She hit the button and two beams of silver white light shot out from the ends. Leia gasped and Luke beamed. Ben’s eyes glittered with something that she couldn’t read.

 

“Excellent!” Luke said. Rey gave him a cheeky grin, whirling the saberstaff and unhooking the two ends. In each hand she now held two sabers. Leia’s brows shot up and Ben started to clap slowly.

 

“Brilliant,” he cooed, stepping forward to claim a kiss. Rey couldn’t help but smile as they kissed, Leia positively glowing.

 

“Congratulations, Rey,” Luke said. “You’ve done it. You’ve completed the trials to become a Jedi.”

 

“Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter,” Rey parroted back at him. “Therefore titles mean nothing.”

 

“We are one with the Force,” Ben cut in quietly and the four sensitives closed their eyes, feeling the Force move around them, the tenuous threads connecting them to the grass, the trees, the stars above, and to each other.

 

“Whatever we are, we must always have each other,” Leia said in a hushed tone. Rey reached out and grasped her hand.

 

“Always,” she promised. With that, they sat down on the blanket, Rey resting her head on Ben’s shoulder and enjoyed a feast in her honor.


End file.
